This is the fourth in a series of position-by-position analyses on the best free agents set to become available on March 13.

In the interior offensive line, the top two guards—Pro Bowlers Carl Nicks (Saints) and Ben Grubbs (Ravens), both of whom play on the left side—may require contracts that are too rich for their current teams. Clubs with cap room will have an opportunity to fill a hole with a quality player from this deep talent pool.

The top options

1. Carl Nicks, G, New Orleans Saints. New Orleans broke the bank for its other starting guard, so Nicks has good reason to ask for at least the $8 million per year that Jahri Evans received from the team. After all, Nicks is the better mauler. With the Saints needing to pay quarterback Drew Brees—it looks like he may require the franchise tag—and wide receiver Marques Colston, they may not be able to afford Nicks. Several other teams, including the Cowboys, look ready to splurge on an elite run-blocking lineman.

2. Chris Myers, C, Houston Texans. He got a much-deserved Pro Bowl nod as the interior anchor of Houston’s zone-blocking scheme. The 30-year-old is valuable to Arian Foster and the running game, and look for the sides to come up with a reasonable contract to keep Myers right where he is.

3. Scott Wells, C, Green Bay Packers. Wells, another Pro Bowler, is less than a year older than Myers and has a very similar style. Yet, Green Bay’s interest in retaining him has been lukewarm. Wells would be a nice addition to a young zone-blocking line needing a leader in the middle.

4. Ben Grubbs, G, Baltimore Ravens. Baltimore officials have placed the franchise tag on running back Ray Rice, and ideally they would like to keep his strong left guard in front of him. Grubbs is in a similar situation to Nicks, as the Ravens invested heavily in their other guard, Pro Bowler Marshal Yanda, a year ago.

5. Evan Mathis, G, Philadelphia Eagles. Now that they have given DeSean Jackson the franchise tag, Eagles officials can concentrate on re-signing their ace run blocker. Mathis had a huge year in front of LeSean McCoy and is worth a long-term deal, even at age 30.

6. Dan Koppen, C, New England Patriots. Koppen is 33 and coming off a 2011 season in which he missed 15 games with a broken ankle. Still, given the fact he has had extensive success as a center for a playoff team, he should draw some outside interest. New England may prefer to spend less to keep Koppen’s more-than-adequate replacement, Dan Connolly.

Recommended On The Web

7. Nick Hardwick, C, San Diego Chargers. After witnessing an injury mess on the offensive line that will continue to cause them to reshuffle, San Diego officials should strongly look to bring back Hardwick, now that he’s choosing not to retire. He has been a steady performer over his eight seasons as a starter, entering the league the same season as quarterback Philip Rivers.

8. Mike Brisiel, G, Houston Texans. Brisiel works very well as a zone-blocking right guard, but the durability issues he’s had since starting every game in 2008 will hurt him on the open market. The Texans, however, shouldn’t be fazed by the fractured fibula he suffered late in the 2011 season and should re-sign him.

9. Jeremy Zuttah, G, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The reason Tampa Bay wants another power back is to take full advantage of having both Davin Joseph and Zuttah, who can also play center, in the interior line. The Bucs need to be careful to not wait too long on Zuttah because his versatility will be appealing to other teams.